They did it with their bare hands!

United States
June 11, 2008 7:23pm CST
They did it with their bare hands! It's true! I was watching a news show about the tomato samonella out break. They showed a man in a restaurant chopping tomatoes with his bare hands! Of all things! There they are cautioning us about this and they show us a major no no without batting their eyelashes. Then my husband was in Wendy's for a reason other than to eat. He saw a woman behind the counter putting a piece of chicken in a roll and she was not wearing gloves. To make matters worse, the worker had long nails. We all know how those nasty germs hide underneath long nails. I am thinking twice about eating out. My husband hate to eat out. You never know if these people even wash their hands when they go to the toilet. Does this sort of thing bother you? I was starved for take out but chose tofu and whole grain noodles.
9 people like this
16 responses
@Bethany1202 (3431)
• United States
12 Jun 08
I'm vegetarian, so it's hard enough for me to usually even FIND a decent place to dine... And when I do, I also worry about the sanitation and cleanliness/hygiene of the workers. Thinking about it too long tends to make me feel sick! I always wash my hands before prepping food at home and wash all veggies before using them. I like to know exactly what goes into my food! Also, as mentioned, it's usually cheaper and DEFINITELY safer, and you don't have to worry as much how it was prepared!
• United States
12 Jun 08
I am cooking more and more. I feel better about it even if I don't always feel like doing it.
1 person likes this
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
12 Jun 08
I don't like restaurant food because you never know who is working on your food. I do home cooking and I am very happy about my choice. I think that food processing needs to be closely monitored. I rather stay healthy and save money by eating at home.
• United States
12 Jun 08
That is fast becoming the safe choice!
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
12 Jun 08
Yes it does. That is why we only eat at places with a A grade from the health department. This is the exact reason why I don't drink iced tea in restaurants as well. Thank Oprah a few years ago for ruining that for me.
2 people like this
• United States
12 Jun 08
How can you tell if they have a grade A from the health department. What did Oprah do now?
1 person likes this
@mfpsassy (2827)
• United States
12 Jun 08
Hi Yestheypayme2dothis Contrary to popular belief they do not have to wear gloves all the time that is why there are hand washing rules. Staff must wash there hands constantly wwhether they wear gloves or not to help fight cross contamination. Watch the wait staff the next time you go to a sit down retaurant. Did they was their hands after they cleaned those dirty dishes off the table next to you and then went and grabbed your food and brought it to you? Did you see them wash their hands or put on gloves before they touched your dinner roll or salad? Samonella starts before the food even reaches its destination You should worry more about ecoli when you dine out or in
@mfpsassy (2827)
• United States
12 Jun 08
Ugh! You would think after 2 months the customers would have complained about that and demaned some. Did they have paper towels in there?
1 person likes this
• United States
12 Jun 08
I have never seen any of them wash their hands. As a matter of fact, I went to a new restaurant(opened about two months before I visited) that had a soap dispense that was brand new and never had a drop of soap in it. So how did they wash their hand when they went potty. It was a small restaurant so I know they did not have a potty at every corner of their world.
2 people like this
@Anniedup (3651)
• Richards Bay, South Africa
19 Jun 08
I love to eat out, but this bothers me as well, my alternative is a Japanese restaurant or open kitchen restaurant where you can see how the food is prepared. Luckily for me my husband is a good cook so it feels like I am eating out every night ! :)
2 people like this
• United States
19 Jun 08
It is scary....and now we have to fear our tomatoes!
2 people like this
@Lock_Heed (210)
• United States
12 Jun 08
I have never been partial to fast food. Maybe a Pizza of Chinese every now and then but fast food like wendy's , no thank you. I don't care how cautious you are, they can't check the workers 24/7. I have noticed around my area some restaurants health code grade have gone down. Granted going from an A+ to an A may not mean much but, it shows how much an owner has time to pay attention to every small detail. I am just talking fast food here. I know of plenty respectable restaurants in the area that I would never mind going to. Knowing the chef helps ;)
2 people like this
• United States
12 Jun 08
How do you check the health codes?
1 person likes this
• United States
12 Jun 08
There should be a chart visible to all customers that shows what grade that particular establishment had been awarded. Look for it next time you are out.
1 person likes this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
12 Jun 08
that is disgusting... that's why i and my hubby prefer to eat home rather than eating outside... we never know how they prepare our food... they can be so unhygenic and we can get sick because of the germs that they passed from the food that they prepare... and eating outside costs lots of money as well... so eating home is the best options for us... take care and have a nice day...
2 people like this
• United States
12 Jun 08
So true and we need to be more aware of it.
1 person likes this
• Malaysia
12 Jun 08
Hi, I also prefer to eat at home because of my friend who works in hotel said, the foods there are looking so nice but it's not nice as it seen. The plate just simply wipe without washing if the plates are out of stock and many more. Could you believe that? Sometimes, I feel like I'm throwing my money for buying the food outside since I could make better. For now on, I'm totally busy with so many works around so I just cook some simple food. But I think it's better rather than buying the meal at those places.
• United States
12 Jun 08
That is so scary!
1 person likes this
@brimia (6581)
• United States
12 Jun 08
I watched a news special once that talked about a scientific study which tested the edges of restaurant plates and toilet seats and found that the toilets were cleaner than the plates. We rarely go out to eat...I cook most days. A big source of salmonella on these vegetables are animal waste. There a huge "factory farms" everywhere to keep up with the huge demand for meat. We're literally drowning in livestock feces. My family is vegan. If more people would become vegetarian or at least seriously cut down on meat consumption we'd have a cleaner, safer environment and with less of a strain on resources. Sorry for the rant. :)
• United States
12 Jun 08
Don't be sorry for the rant. It is an excellent one and so true.
1 person likes this
@KarenO52 (2950)
• United States
12 Jun 08
It does really bother me if I think that people who are handling food are not doing it properly. I was going to get something to eat at a fast food place a long time ago, and I saw the person behind the counter handling money, and then handling food without hand washing or wearing gloves. The long nails aren't the only thing that's bad, germs hide under chipped nail polish too, it's been proved! If I see anything I don't like in a restaurant,I won't eat there. Last weekend, I had a little shock, and this was at a country club. I went there for a family party, and the place was beautiful, and the people who were serving the food were coming around frequently to see if we needed anything. A girl was going around with a large platter of cookies, and one of the cookies dropped onto the upholstered dining chair that a little girl was sitting in. The girl with the platter picked the cookie up off the chair and put it on the little girl's plate. The little girl did not eat the cookie, but I could only imagine what was on that cookie after landing on the chair.
2 people like this
• United States
12 Jun 08
I really believe these people should have to take a course in food safety before they start working in these restaurants. Obviously, they were raised on a different planet.
1 person likes this
@only1shi (404)
• United States
22 Jun 08
my sister actually works for a fast food restaurant and she was explaining that in her restaurant, the people in the kitchen aren't required to wear gloves because they are stuck at one station all day. with certain activities, the gloves could actually pose as a hazard- like over a fryer or at a dipping station. it is against company rules for anyone working in the food area to have long nails or artificial nails though. i don't say that i agree with this completely, but i can understand it. i have in recent times cut back on eating out, but mostly because money has become tighter.
• United States
22 Jun 08
Even if they are working in one station all day, some people have a tendency to dig at their hair or whatever. I have seen people in the grocery store wearing gloves and digging at their hair and touching all kinds of surfaces. So the gloves did not help much. It was like they thought the gloves were there to protect them from the lunchmeat! lol
@kerriannc (4279)
• Jamaica
12 Jun 08
These persons that work in the fast food restaurant do not take proper hygiene. They apply for the jobs and stick that they will follow the rules and regulations but when they receive it, it is a different thing. Three quarter of the time the managers/bosses does not know what is going on in the work place. Some of these staffs carry revenge and now that prices are going up every day and salaries remain the same there are going to be alot of these things happening. What we all going to do is stop eating at these restaurants and when they realize that they do not have a job then they will follow the rules. Sometimes I have to wonder if they don't believe that the customers are human just like themselves. This is the reason alot of them tell your immediate family and friends not to support these fast foods because they know what they are doing in there.
2 people like this
• United States
12 Jun 08
We refrain from eating at those places but I am wondering if we should stay away from all restaurants. As times change, people do not have as much respect for each as they did years ago.
1 person likes this
• Maldives
12 Jun 08
I only dine out at places where the food is prepared in front of my eyes.yeah you guessed it barbecues! i love them!Also i choose other places renowned for their quality service & hygiene.Never have i ever got sick or had nauseas after eating any food from a restaurant yet.But my sister got rashes on her leg, but it turned out that she was just ellergic to onions!
2 people like this
• United States
12 Jun 08
I am heading to the closest BBQ!
1 person likes this
• United States
12 Jun 08
I hate to eat out. I'd rather just cook the meal at home and enjoy it, because I have worked in fast food before and I know all of the things that go on. Cooks drop food on the floor and because they are lazy and nasty they want you to still serve it....it's crazy. So yeah I cook for the most part, unless I am traveling.
2 people like this
• United States
12 Jun 08
Thanks for the tip!
1 person likes this
• Canada
22 Jun 08
That's absolutely disgusting. I like to stick to restaurants and places that I'm familliar with. I am sitting in one of my favourite cafes right now. I know all of the people in here, and they take a lot of pride in what they do.
• United States
22 Jun 08
We need more places like that. I trust very few places here.
@schulzie (4061)
• United States
22 Jun 08
Yes, that is just nasty! I know when I went into Taco Bell a couple weeks ago there were 2 employees in the kitchen and they were preparing burritos and tacos and were touching the tortillas, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes with their bare hands. It is just disgusting. And you just hope that they at least have washed their hands before they handled the food. And who knows at the restaurants that have the kitchen behind closed doors. It does bother me too.
• United States
24 Jun 08
I am starting to cook even more.